The Federal Government has disclosed its decision to partner with the Republic of Greece on the training of Nigerian youths on shipbuilding, deep blue sea fishing, and other agricultural value chains for the mutual benefits of both countries.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta, Senator Ita Enang made this known during a visit on the Greece Ambassador to Nigeria Ioannis Plotas in Abuja.
He stated that the training would cover other agricultural value chains for the mutual benefits of both countries.
According to Senator Enang, “part of my mandates is to work on economic diversification especially as it affects the Niger Delta and to reverse the situation in which we depend on foreign imported goods”, adding that, “the partnership on the agricultural value chain is expected to explore the opportunity of the ocean deep blue sea economy “.
He said: “The main aim is to ensure that we train the citizens of the Niger Delta in fishing in the high seas, in the potential shipbuilding and ensure that we harvest the fish in the deep ocean, high seas and the streams”.
“The programme would also provide the platform to process them within Nigeria, send some for export and consume some in Nigeria. This will prevent the use of foreign exchange in food importation.”
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Enang, commended the Officers of the University of Patras in Greece and the consortium of Greece companies who are working on the project, requesting that Nigeria would like to be linked to any other institutions in Greece, particularly on the fish and agricultural value chain.
He said, “We want to have a discussion with them on how they can be of assistance to us, not in terms of giving us aides, we are going to do business and into the transfer of technology. We want them to show us one of the few things they would do, invest in Nigeria, teach people about it and also learn from us.”
Enang stressed further that the Greece Institutions would also learn from us because according to him, “our land is domestic, our culture is domestic, the fishes are domestic and the things they eat are domestic”.
Responding, the Greece Ambassador to Nigeria Ioannis Plotas commended Senator Enang for being in the forefront to strengthen the relationship between Nigeria and Greece. He expressed his satisfaction with Nigeria’s diversification of economic programmes.
The Ambassador noted that other companies in northern Greece would be ready to take advantage of the programme, adding that Greece Companies own about 80% of the commercial shipping fleet in Europe and about 25% in the whole world.
